July 10, 2006
Following street lit sensation Candy Licker
, Noire returns to gangsta Harlem to tell the tale of Andre "Thug-a-Licious" Williams, a "Dawg-4-Lyfe" whose death is announced in the preface and whose life unfurls in a series of dark, stop-start flashbacks. At the time of his death, Dre, or Thug, was, improbably, "the baddest NBA rookie in the league," who was, at the same time, a rapper with a "club-banging album with triple platinum potential." Noire doesn't show us much of Thug's practice on the court or time in the studio (though a number of his rhymes are strewn through the narrative): the action is concentrated on his dick (which is big) and his exploits (nine children by nine different mothers by page 257, along with herpes). Through it all, Dre loves Carmiesha "Muddah" Vernoy, with whom he's hoping to settle down. He shields her from his criminal activity with cousins Pimp and Smoove (Carl and Todd Williams). It's Pimp who does the worst of it, and who also does time in jail while Thug accepts a basketball scholarship to Syracuse. Meanwhile, Muddah, who has gone to college and started her own beauty salon, Locks of Love, is keeping a secret that will eventually catch up with her and with Thug. The plot sputters, and the lives of all concerned are unrelentingly grim, but the sex really is hot.
August 1, 2006
Andre Williams, aka Thug-A-Licious, is a Harlem boy determined to make good relying on his talent and ambition. He and his cousins Carl, aka Pimp-A-Licious, and Todd, aka Smooth-A-Licious, were nicknamed by their Puerto Rican grandmother and raised by his unpredictable mother. Performing as a rap trio, they became known and revered as the Licious Lovers. After living in the streets and participating in illegal activities, he escapes his unstable lifestyle by attending Syracuse University on a basketball scholarship. His dreams become reality when he is drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks. By age 25, Andre is making millions as a starting NBA rookie with a chart-topping rap song and number-one video. He is also an eligible bachelor and father of nine children but in love with the only woman to have his heart, Carmeshia. On the eve of the play-offs and after a short life of living for the moment, loving and leaving women, he finally has to pay for his past sins, and Carmeshia retaliates for his demise. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)